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Korra
Skills Earth, Fire, Air, Water. There are four elements and only the avatar can bind them all to his will. The Avatar exists to keep balance in the world. Balance between the elements and balance between those who can bend and those who can’t. Korra is the latest Avatar in the long line of reincarnation and thus can bind the four elements to her will, in theory. But, like any other bender, Korra can have her “Chi” blocked, and thus can find herself unable to bend whichever element for a short time. From a certain point of view, Korra was a particularly gifted avatar as she could display some mastery of three of the four elements since a very young age. Water, the element of her native people, Fire and earth. Today after years of practice, she can claim a certain mastery of these elements. Air however, the prime element of the previous avatar, still eludes her. Any attempt using it either fails miserable, or causes more troubles than uses. But, in theory, she has all that is required to master this element, although an abnormally patient master to teach her might also be a significant help. But, she can rely on her other elements, which provide a very wide panel of skills. Water bending allows one to manipulate water to its will. The higher the skill of the bender, to larger the possibilities. Korra is more than a decent water bender as she was trained since her childhood, by one of its most successful master, Katara. She can use the water around her as a weapon, as a shield or also to heal people, even from rather serious injuries, although of course, each of this use has its limits, as she has still plenty to learn, even in the mastery of that element. If she can bend water, her mastery of the element allows her to turn it to ice and thus extend the panel of possibilities using it. However, Korra’s mastery of water bending knows one simple, but decisive limit. Indeed, she needs to be close to water to use it and cannot use “non conventional” sources as the humidity in the air or water inside plants, unlike true masters of the discipline. Therefore, away from any source of water, she won’t be able to use water bending. Being the Avatar, Korra is also gifted in the use of the Earth element. This means that she can use the earth around her and bind it to her will. The possibilities are vast and some example are making a rock levitate and throw it on a target, create a wall of earth as a mean of defense or even create a shelter for the night. If some very capable earth benders are capable of bending metal, Korra cannot claim to have reached this level of mastery. Earth bending, although very powerful and resourceful, also has its limits. Not so much unlike water bending, it requires earth, in whatever form it is in, to be usable. Not being able to bend metal, Korra’s earth bending will be useless if she is surrounded by it, or by wood, for example. Without earth (usable earth) around her, her earth bending is useless. Fire bending is the third element Korra can use with some skill and although perhaps more limited in the possibilities it offers, bending fire to your will is no less effective. She can produce fire out of thin air and use it as she wants. As a projectile, or as a mean to boil her water. If it is indeed a very lethal element to command, it is also perhaps the most dangerous of them all as fire has a tendency to escape control and cause tragic collateral damages. Unlike the two other elements she is skilled in, fire bending knows less limits, as she can create the fire she bends, herself. Still, it perhaps wiser to use these powers in an open environment as not only fire consumes oxygen, which can lead to uncomfortable situations, but fire can… Back fire, which is hard to avoid, dodge, in confined places. It is therefore not always wise to rely on fire bending. Aside from being a capable bender, Korra is also very talented in close quarter combat, being a skilled martial artist as well as possessing a surprisingly significant physical strength. Bending the elements is in itself, a martial art style. Therefore, although a bender will most likely rely on his bending, he can also defend himself without it, whatever the reason. However, as skilled as she is, she remains human and thus has the same weaknesses as any human. She can be hurt in the same ways and will die from the same wounds. Another trick Avatar possesses, but that Korra hasn’t experienced, achieved, reached, yet, is the “Avatar State”. It is a special state, often triggered by danger or anger (or willingly once the avatar has reached a significant mastery of it), in which the Avatar acquires the experience of all its previous lives. It is a form of fusion between the actual avatar and all the past ones. The result is an incredibly powerful, destructive force, but also an uncontrollable one, unless the avatar has achieved complete mastery over himself (It can then be triggered at will, theoretically). The destructive force is also a danger to all of the avatar’s allies, as risks of collateral damages are here again, very high. Another important note is that, should the avatar die, while in the avatar state, the avatar line, cycle, will be broken as no other avatar will ever come to be. Personality Korra is many things, but most of all, she is troubles. She has no will to be an annoyance to anyone, but she is still a rather young Avatar. A.k.a a lot of powers focused in one individual that has issues holding on and thus frequently damages things that she wasn’t supposed to. She is aware of the importance of her mission as the avatar, but still acts rashly and regardless of the consequences, only to face them later on. Korra is quite fiery, and a true hot-head. She isn’t one to stand idle and think things through, having little patience and preferring action, to, well, anything else. She remains quite immature and this leads her to behave somewhat disrespectfully to those around her, even though she did not really intend it. Her lack of forethought has also led her more than once, to regret her actions, but it seems it hasn’t been enough to make her grow up, yet. Time might do the trick, but then most likely, a lot of it (a lot). But, before anything else, Korra is a generous and good hearted individual. She has a hero complex, which is to be expected when you are a hero and still expects to save everyone (even perhaps some people who didn’t ask for it). Korra is thus quite different from her “past self”, the Avatar Aang, who was a far calmer and a rather peaceful person, who preferred to avoid confrontation, when Korra seems to favor it (not in all circumstances however). But they still share some things, like a strong sense of humor, and a liking to jokes, even some pretty bad ones. However, the comparison doesn’t spread much further. Unlike Aang, Korra is very concerned as to how people think she should act as the avatar. She is also somewhat disconnected to the “spiritual side” of her training, which has an impact on her abilities. Although being the Avatar and being most aware of it, she remains not so different from a normal teenager and can prove to be very fearful. This was the case for instance when she risked losing her powers, which represent a lot, if not everything to her. However, growing up as the Avatar, as she became aware of it very early in her life, she grew up in a rather special environment, a sheltered one. This made her somewhat socially awkward and she has a hard time hiding and dealing with her true feelings. For instance, she expresses her jealousy by extreme, otherwise undeserved hostility. It is a safe assumption to say that she is ruled by her emotions, but perhaps it is not something uncommon for a 17 years old teenager. Korra is very loyal to her friends, her best most likely being Naga, her Polar Bear Dog (Yeah…). She shares a strong bond with her, and although she uses her as a mount, she relies on her for many things and does almost everything with her. Having some others, both in the Southern Water Tribe and Republic City, they are actually what motivate her most in her training and when she faces adversity. Appearance The latest Avatar in the cycle, Korra was born in the Southern Water Tribe, the first female Avatar since Avatar Kiyoshi. Korra is of an athletic build, which can be explained by the intensive training she has followed every since she has been identified as the Avatar. She is rather tall, slender, and good looking, it has to be said, but also strong, although she is actually significantly stronger than she looks. As she is originally of the Southern Water Tribe, she has a light brown skin tone, blue eyes and brown hairs, she wears long, but in typical local fashion. Although master of several elements, Korra is proud of her origins and wears both a Southern Water Tribe hair style, but also extends it to her clothing and other accessories. She can be seen wearing typical Air Bending cloths when training with Tenzin, but otherwise favors her traditional cloths, which might look out of place in a city like Republic City. Often seen with her Polar Bear Dog, Naga, Korra is indeed hard to miss or mistake with anyone else and attracts quite some attention. But as she has no wish to hide her identity, she cares little about it. But the difference between her traditional clothing and the current fashions in Republic City is a display of the difference between this city and the rest of the world, especially the more traditional, civilizations as the Water Tribes. And, although cars are now a common commodity around the city, and although Korra is rather young, she is perhaps of those are prefer keeping to a more basic, traditional way of life. She is one to prefer walking or her Polar Bear Dog, than a car or another mean of transport, although she is aware that Zeppelins and the such have some undeniable advantages. Korra has a very expressional face and is thus easy to read. Governed by her emotions most often than not, she hasn’t reach mastery when trying to hide them. Part of her somewhat immature personality she is still prone to provoke or make faces or such. But then again, maybe she isn’t all that different from Aang, her past life, after all. Relationships History The Avatar is the spirit of the planet, incarnate in a body and thus the only being capable of bending the four elements to his will. Mastering the four elements it is his duty to keep the balance between the four nations. After his death, each avatar is reborn in another nation, thus following a pattern as old as the world itself. The cycle allows predicting in which nation the next Avatar will be born and thus identifying him at a young age. Avatar Aang was born within the Air Nomads, but disappeared for a hundred years during which the Fire nation invaded the rest of the world. However, upon his return, and some adventures, he eventually defeated the Fire Lord and restored balance and peace to the world. However, as powerful as he is, the Avatar is not immortal and thus, Aang died. And this was how Korra, the next Avatar in the cycle, was born in the Southern Water Tribe. Korra was born from Sonraq and Senna, following the death of Aang. It took several years to find her, but she realized herself at the age of four that she was the Avatar, and following her parent’s claim, the order of the White Lotus could verify the veracity of it. She was indeed identified by performing water bending, earth bending and fire bending in front of them. Korra was then taken by the Order to be trained as the Avatar. She received instructions from some of the world’s most renounced master, such as Katara, the widow of the previous Avatar, Aang. If Korra proved to be very athletic and capable in the more “physical” part of the bending disciplines, she remained far less receptive to the more “spiritual” part of it. And furthermore, if she could use fire bending, earth bending and water bending, air bending still eluded her, quite completely. Frustrated, and although she was acquainted with Tenzin, one of the few and surely the most capable air bending master, as well as Avatar Aang’s son, but he could not find the time to train her. Growing up as the Avatar meant that she had a rather limited social life, as it mostly consisted of various master of various disciplines and her family, which she could visit regularly. It is however following her 17th birthday that an opportunity arose. Indeed, Tenzin was supposed to travel to the South Pole and teach her Air bending. The thought was very exciting and the disappointment was great when he told her that he was only passing through. Apparently, there were serious troubles in Republic City, which meant that his presence was required there more than it was here. Although Korra did not share this opinion, speaking her mind did not achieve anything. But then an idea emerged in her mind. If Tenzin couldn’t stay here to train her, she would go to Republic City, then, he would have no excuse not to train her. She thought she had mastered the three other elements well enough, and only Tenzin could add Air to the list. Besides, mastering Air sounded fun. And so, seizing the first opportunity she tried to sneak out of the compound she resided in. She was caught by Katara, who actually encouraged her to take the opportunity, claiming that there was only so much she could be taught here, and should she ever become a “full avatar”, she would need to take this journey. Korra agreed completely, although perhaps she had different motives. She left with Naga, her Polar Bear Dog and snuck on a ship sailing towards Republic City. Nothing she had ever seen or heard could have prepared her to what she witnessed upon her arrival. Indeed, the city was huge and very different from the Southern Water Tribe’s villages. It was a whole other world, far more advanced, and with far more people. Attracting attention with her huge Polar Bear Dog, it wasn’t long before she got into troubles. Indeed, although she had no idea what was happening, she fell upon the Triple Threat Triad, racketing someone. She intervene, and easily disposed of them, but not without making some damages. She actually destroyed more than the Triad would have without her intervention. And of course, this was enough to attract the attention of the City’s security forces. After miserably trying to escape, Korra was taken prisoner by the Metal Bending Officers. She was then interrogated by its chief, Lin Beifong, with whom the encounter wasn’t exactly smooth, but was eventually rescued by Tenzin who happened to held a very influential position within the city. Even though he had planned to send her back, Tenzin eventually agreed to have her stay, and train her. After all, Republic City had been Avatar Aang’s dream, and therefore, it was Korra’s duty, as the next Avatar, to keep it a reality. The excitement of moving to Republic City did not take long to wear off. She wasn’t allowed much more freedom here, as Tenzin believed that Air Bending training required an empty mind. He wanted her to have no distractions and to focus on her training. The thought was nightmarish and the training itself, not only lethally boring, but actually fruitless. Having little patience, Korra’s frustration led her to destroy an ancient and priceless Air Nomad training tool. Republic City was too tempting for her to focus on a fruitless training, and thus, the inevitable finally occurred. She overheard something about “Pro-Bending” on the radio and it immediately teased her curiosity. Discovering her new-found interest, Tenzin forbid her to look (or listen) further into the matter. However, just like Air Bending, this instruction proved to be fruitless. She seized the first occasion to sneak out in the dark and went to the arena. She was caught inside by someone while she was roaming around, but was bailed out by a Pro-Bending player called Bolin, as he stated that she was with him. Seizing the occasion she followed him as he offered her to watch him and his team play. They were called the Fire Ferrets. Korra immediately became enthralled with the sport and did not hide her enthusiasm when Bolin’s team won. Bolin then offered her to try some moves in the gym and, decided, after witnessing some moves that she was a “natural”. Bolin’s enthusiasm wasn’t however shared by his brother, Mako. It is a few days later that an opportunity showed itself. As they were to appear in their final match to reach the official Pro-Bending championship tournament, their team’s water bender did not show up. It is then that Korra offered to replace him, and seeing no other solution, even Mako was forced to accept. However, Korra wasn’t familiar with the rules and committed quite a few fouls before she finally got a grip on how she was supposed to play. One of these fouls betrayed her identity as using two different bending elements could only be achieved by the avatar. After some deliberations however, she was allowed to play, as long as she only used water bending. And then, they made it and won the match. Even Mako did not hide his joy. It is there and then that Korra became friends with the brothers. She then decided to join the team completely. However, Pro-Bending and Air Bending weren’t the only two things Korra was to worry about. No, it would have been too simple. She had encountered an “equalist”, distributing tracts before, had been angered by his speech, but hadn’t actually paid real attention to him and had rapidly completely forgotten him. However, when they kidnapped Bolin, Korra and Mako were forced to seek them out. They eventually found the place where their meeting took place and witnessed what was a true horror for Korra as well as most likely all the benders. Indeed, their leader, Amon, proved to be able to take away someone’s bending, permanently and only by laying his fingers on his face. Although it wasn’t easy, they managed to rescue Bolin before he suffered this horrible fate and escaped. It was then that Amon’s true nature was revealed. The city council decided to create a task force and its leader, Councilman Tarrlok, tricked her into joining it, against Tenzin’s will. It is then that she began tracking Amon’s equalists with other benders. Many of these equalists were “Chi-blockers”, capable martial artists, able to block one’s bending abilities for a short time by hitting them in special places. Soon after joined the task force, she challenged Amon on the radio to a meeting, one on one to settle the matter, on the Memorial Island. Amon eventually showed up, but not alone, as he was accompanied by several Chi-blockers. They easily defeated Korra and she was forced to face Amon in person. Satisfied with Korra’s helplessness, he however stated that removing her bending now would be too easy and would not serve his plans as it would only make her a martyr and actually play against him. Therefore, he knocked her out and left her there, humiliated, terrified. This encounter led Korra to have terrible nightmares about losing her bending abilities. Extremely afraid, she tried her best to hide it. As the Avatar, she was the center of attention and thus did not want to display any kind of fear. She then admitted her fear to Tenzin and took a break from the task force and focused both on her training and Pro-Bending. The Fire Ferrets were allowed to enter the championship following a sponsorship by the Sato family. Indeed, Mako encountered Asami Sato, the daughter of the company’s owner and it seemed that they soon became inseparable, which wasn’t to please Korra. Indeed, she had feelings for Mako and soon decided to reveal them, but was turned down. She then accepted Bolin’s invitation for a night out, which happened to be pleasant for both of them. However, it is not change her mind on Mako, and this eventually led to a lot of tension between the three teammates. However, they still, miraculously, managed to reach the final. It is then that Amon threatened to act if the final wasn’t cancelled, and after a lot of deliberation, and Korra’s intervention as well as Chief Lin Beifong’s, the final was maintained. The Fire ferrets lost to a cheating opponent and a biased referee, despite a lot of efforts, and ended up thrown off in the water surrounding the ring. However, it was their luck when they witnessed, Amon living true to his threats. He appeared along with many of his minions and stole away the winning champion’s bending abilities. But, before she could try to intervene and prevent Amon to make any more damage, it seemed that something was dragging Korra down in the water. It was as if something dark was trying to drown her. But as she was starting to feel the air deprivation, she could breathe again. She was no longer in the water. She was no longer in the arena. Where was she? Pandora History